USF at 70: The moments that turned the university into a pop culture stage

By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing

It's considered one of the defining moments that transformed professional wrestling from a fringe spectacle into a cultural powerhouse now widely known as "sports entertainment," with televised shows drawing millions of viewers each week.

On Feb. 7, 1987, Andre the Giant turned on his longtime friend, heavyweight champion and USF alum Hulk Hogan, sparking a feud that drew unprecedented mainstream attention for that time. During a joint interview, Andre cemented his villain status by ripping Hogan's shirt and crucifix - a moment that has been replayed for decades in wrestling documentaries.

And it happened at the Yuengling Center - then known as the Sun Dome - on the University of South Florida campus.

USF is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, prompting reflection on how the university has shaped the Tampa Bay region, state and nation through academics, research, athletics and business.

Along the way, it also has hosted a wide range of cultural touchstones, from NBA player Charles Barkley's professional debut to comedian Gallagher discovering his affinity for food-based comedy.

In celebration of USF's seven decades, here are seven moments when the university intersected with pop culture.

On The Road to USF

Years after helping spark the Beat Generation, a literary subculture movement, with his "On the Road" novel, Jack Kerouac left his nomadic life behind and settled in St. Petersburg in 1966. He was known to then cross the bay to spend time with USF students at their local hangouts.

Kerouac died in 1969, but the university remained a draw for beatnik figures.

In 1972, Kerouac's close friend, poet Allen Ginsberg, came to campus, giving an informal reception for students in the University Center Ballroom at the Tampa campus. Accompanying himself on harmonium, he chanted, sang and read poetry - blending Beat-era work with political commentary and jokes about then-President Richard Nixon - engaging the crowd in a loose, participatory performance that echoed earlier counterculture movements.

A Ray of Soul Comes to Campus

USF emerged as a major concert venue in 1981, when the Sun Dome hosted its first mainstream concert: Alice Cooper. The performance drew thousands of fans and featured the "School's Out" singer's theatrical style, complete with elaborate staging, props and mock onstage executions. News coverage described a mix of music, dark humor and spectacle that helped establish the Sun Dome as a destination for large-scale touring acts like Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, the Beach Boys, Def Leppard, Rod Stewart, Sting, Jimmy Buffett, Billy Idol, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, Kenny Rogers and the Moody Blues.

But one of the most memorable was Ray Charles, one of the most iconic and influential musicians, known for wearing dark glasses due to vision loss. Charles performed at the Sun Dome in 1991 alongside the USF Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra and Gospel Choir. A year earlier, the singer - whose "St. Pete Florida Blues" drew on his teenage years in Tampa Bay - made headlines when he received an honorary degree from USF.

"This is so meaningful to me," Charles said at the commencement ceremony. "I've been a fortunate man and received a lot of awards, but this truly touched me the most."

Lights, Camera … Punishment

The area surrounding USF has served as the backdrop for a number of major motion pictures. "Edward Scissorhands," starring Johnny Depp, filmed primarily in nearby Lutz, while mafia film "Goodfellas" shot a scene at neighboring ZooTampa at Lowry Park.

Then, in 2004, USF itself played a direct role in a blockbuster. "The Punisher" comic book movie, starring Thomas Jane, was filmed throughout Tampa Bay and used the university's former golf course for a scene featuring John Travolta as the main villain.

Before He Was Sir Charles

The Tampa Bay area might not have a professional basketball team, but USF was the locale for the start of a historic NBA career.

Before becoming one of television's most entertaining studio personalities -- and long before he was known as "Sir Charles" -- Charles Barkley was a dominant force on the court. Once nicknamed the "Round Mound of Rebound" for his strength and presence on the glass, Barkley made his professional debut in a preseason game held in 19884 at USF between his Philadelphia 76ers and the Atlanta Hawks.

The game drew nearly 10,000 fans to the Sun Dome, many eager to see stars like Julius "Dr. J" Erving. Barkley quickly made an impression, showcasing the energy and physicality that would define his Hall of Fame career while helping Philadelphia to a 106-101 win.

The Road to Watermelons Began with Pigs

He would later become famous for smashing watermelons on stage, but as a USF student, Leo Gallagher - later known simply as the comedian Gallagher - was already using food as spectacle to make a point.

In 1969, Gallagher led a protest over campus food by organizing a group called OINK (Organization for Involvement in Neighborhood Kommunities) and brought pigs into dining halls. Students were encouraged to feed the animals leftover cafeteria food, highlighting concerns about quality and waste.

Gallagher drew area-wide news attention for the mix of humor and provocation - an early example of the exaggerated, food-centered performance style that would later define his "Sledge-O-Matic" routine, in which he smashed watermelons and other items on stage as part of a chaotic, high-energy gag.

Welcome to The ThunderDome

While the Andre the Giant-Hulk Hogan angle on the USF campus in 1987 helped launch professional wrestling into another stratosphere, the Yuengling Center played a pivotal role in sustaining that momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From April through July 2021, with touring and live crowds largely suspended, WWE established a temporary home inside USF's arena, creating what the promotion called "Thunderdome." The state-of-the-art setup featured expansive video boards, pyrotechnics, lasers, cutting-edge graphics and drone cameras, delivering an immersive viewing experience. It also virtually brought thousands of fans into the arena through live video feeds, helping preserve the energy of WWE's televised events at a time when in-person audiences were not possible.

USF's Sportscenter Moment

During last football season, ESPN's "SportsCenter on Campus" set up outside the Marshall Student Center, drawing about 1,000 fans and turning the university into a national stage. The broadcast promoted a prime-time game the Bulls won 55-23 against University of Texas at San Antonio and capped a breakout season fueled by one of the nation's top offenses - signaling, as ESPN anchors and students put it, that "USF football has arrived."

Next year marks another step in that arrival.

Beginning in fall 2027, USF's first on-campus stadium - an approximately 35,000-seat facility - will host football and other major events. It's the kind of venue built not just for athletics, but for moments that could become backdrops for the next generation of pop culture milestones.

Know of more top culture moments at USF? Send us an email and let us know what we may have missed.